


Ray Foster, Lord of the Manor

by WarnerHedgehog



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018)
Genre: 1980s, Concerts, Gen, Live Aid, Luxury, Music, Pop Culture, Queen - Freeform, Rock Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29556225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarnerHedgehog/pseuds/WarnerHedgehog
Summary: Where was music executive Ray Foster in 1985? Was he a happy bunny?





	Ray Foster, Lord of the Manor

Situated on Densham Road in Stratford, London was a somewhat palatial property. Locals knew it as either the Manor House, or the Lord's Manor. According to the Post Office it was called Soundforge House and was the rather gaudy home of ex-EMI music executive, one Raymond Arthur Lionel Foster.  
Raymond's current position in the world of music was as the big cheese of RALF Records, an independant label set up shortly after he had left EMI in the spring of 1981.  
His departure came after several new acts he had personally turned away from EMI's doors had gone to rival organisations and almost immediately made it big. The company bigwigs had thus started to question his wisdom and vision. Rather than get hit by depression as one might do in such a situation, Ray had seen it as a way to reinvent himself. He had thus started his own little label, and by the end of '82 he had gone completely 80s and as such, the beard was history, his hair was slicked back, he now sported a swish ivory blazer over a Hawaiian shirt and had a tendency to drink classy cocktails. He still wore shades indoors, but some habits can run pretty deep.  
Today was July the thirteenth, Ninteen Eightly Five, and like a lot of people the world over, Ray was watching Live Aid. He was currently cheerfully bopping away on his couch to Dire Straits, and sipping a Singapore Sling. None of the acts on his tiny label were big enough to get in on the Live Aid action, but never mind: It was fairly good all the same.  
In his life, Ray had few regrets. While he was not one to dwell on the past, a couple of things still haunted him. The biggest regret was having a one night fling with classy model Mindy Cheesecake, well the regret wasn't actually about the fling itself, but rather his wife finding out and thus ditching him the following week, leaving him alone in his rather echoey mansion with only Cleo the indifferent cat for company. His other big regret was losing Queen while he was at EMI. If he'd kept them, then maybe he'd not only still be there, but be up in the upper levels of power by now. Even now, whenever a Queen song came on the radio, he either went into a minor fit of rage or immediately switched to a different station. He _really_ loathed Bohemian Rhapsody and had once smashed a radio with a hammer that was unfortunately within reach when the first few words had been sung. Its fair to say that very shortly, he really wasn't going to be a happy bunny at all. When Smith and Jones walked on with their interval comedy routine, Ray was in hysterics, but when Mel Smith announced Queen as the next act the hysterics fled. Ray watched in dour disbelief as the 4 rockers came on and took up their positions, and as Freddie played the first notes of Bohemian Rhapsody, his yell of rage could be heard a mile away. The TV remote crashing very hard into the center of the screen didn't help either. It would be very nice from a narrative perspective to say that the TV exploded into a shower of glass and sparks, but it didn't: It simply shrugged the attack off and defiantly went on playing Queen at Ray. The remote didn't fare so well though and was in several bits around the room. Shaking in anger, the music exec stomped over to the set and viciously stabbed the power button. He spent the rest of the weekend drinking heavily, seething a lot and moaning to any inanimate object within range.  
If anyone at RALF said anything to Ray about Live Aid witin the next month, they might well find themselves unemployed very quickly.


End file.
